The Sevans
by Teddylonglong
Summary: ONE-SHOT. Before his first Hogwarts year, Harry escapes from the Dursleys' and resides at the Leaky Cauldron. One day, he meets a boy who looks exactly like himself. Completely AU!


**The Sevans**  
 **by Teddylonglong**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Eleven-year-old Harry Potter watched Hagrid leave from the spot, inwardly sighing in relief. _'Thank God that he didn't insist to take me home,'_ he thought, as he had already set his mind on never returning to the Dursleys'.

He swiftly walked back all the way to the Leaky Cauldron and addressed Tom, the barkeeper, in a small voice.

"I'd like to rent a room until I'm going to leave for Hogwarts," he admitted to the older wizard, who cast him a surprised look but finally nodded in apparent understanding.

"Come with me," he offered and made him climb up an old, wooden staircase until they reached a small room at the top of the house. "You can have this room for a Galleon for the month, three Galleons if you want to have three meals a day," he informed him.

"Yes please," Harry replied, gratefully. Pulling the small bag, which he had received at Gringotts, out of his robe pocket, he dutifully handed over three Galleons.

HP

When Tom left his room, promising to send Lisa, his house-elf, to Harry's room with the meals, Harry stood in front of the window looking down at the crowded shopping street.

' _I'm free,_ ' his mind screamed. _'I don't have to return to the Dursleys.'_ He felt extremely grateful towards his parents who had left him enough money to be able to live comfortably. _'Oh well, I'd rather have you with me instead of owning your vault,'_ he thought, as sadness overcame him, when he remembered the story which Hagrid had told him earlier.

Suddenly, he made up his mind and hurried downstairs, where he followed a group of wizards and witches out into Diagon Alley. Without even considering where he was going, he somehow found himself entering Flourish & Blotts. He headed over to the shelves, which he had visited earlier only to just grab the books on his book list, and slowly skimmed the shelves, pulling out a couple of books that seemed interesting.

Harry looked up, startled, when he heard an announcement that the shop was going to close in ten minutes' time. _'Oh my God, did I really spend three hours here?'_ he thought in disbelief, as he carried a pile of about a dozen books to the counter to pay for them.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry happily skimmed his new books – his first possessions ever apart from his school supplies – and decided to read _'An Introduction to the Fine Art of Potions Brewing'_ first.

By the time he decided to go to bed, eyeing the comfortable looking bed in amazement, he had already become very intrigued in the book and felt extremely happy to be able to study what, when and how much he wanted.

' _I must be the happiest boy in the world,'_ he thought, as he drifted off to sleep – for the first time in years with a happy smile on his face.

HP

During the first week of his stay at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry spent his days wandering around Diagon Alley as well as the adjacent streets belonging to the wizarding shopping centre. Everything was so interesting, and Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself. He spent the evenings reading, for once feeling full and happy after receiving three proper meals on a daily basis.

' _The food is really good here,'_ Harry thought, feeling much more cared for than he had ever felt in his life, especially since Lisa, the house-elf, who brought his meals, always asked if he was all right and instructed him to not go to bed too late.

"I really like the magical world," he said to Lisa on his seventh day at the pub.

Lisa smiled, before she advised him to once head out to the other side of the Leaky Cauldron and visit the muggle part of London. "It's very pretty," she reassured him, smiling.

"Oh well, after spending five days at Diagon Alley, I could really head out to the muggle world for a day," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "I don't have any muggle money though."

"You cans easily changes money into muggle currency at Gringotts," Lisa informed him. "Do you knows Gringotts?" she then enquired.

"Yes, I know the bank, thank you very much," Harry replied, gratefully.

HP

Early the following morning, he headed to Gringotts, glad that the bank was open even on a Sunday, and exchanged twenty Galleons into British Pounds, before he left for the muggle world.

' _I just have to remember the way, so I won't get lost on the way back. Oh well, in the worst case I could ask someone how to get to King's Cross and come back from there,'_ he reassured himself, as he walked on, looking left and right with interest.

After a few hours of straying through the streets of the London city centre, he bought himself an ice-cream and made himself comfortable on an empty bench on the bank of the river Thames, feeling totally free and happy.

While he relaxed, observing his surroundings with curiosity, a boy caught his eyes. He was sitting between what seemed to be his parents on the bench next to him. However, what attracted his attention was the fact that the boy looked exactly like Harry saw himself when he looked into a mirror.

HP

Before Harry's mind could explain what was so strange with seeing someone who looked like himself – with his messy hair and emerald green eyes -, the boy jumped from his seat and rushed over to Harry.

"Hi there," he addressed him, smiling. "I'm Alex Sevan, and I'm nine. Who are you, and why are you looking like me?"

Harry smiled at the younger boy. "I'm Harry Potter, and I'm eleven," he replied, curiously eyeing the child, who was suddenly joined by his parents.

"Harry Potter," his mother said, her forehead suddenly scrunched in thought. "I've somewhere heard that name before."

"Where?" her husband asked, looking from his wife to the boy who was the splitting image of his son.

"Is your family living nearby?" the boy questioned Harry.

"I don't have a family," Harry informed him. "My parents died when I was a baby. Right now, I'm living at the Leaky Cauldron." Noticing that six eyes looked at him, questioningly, he explained, "That's a small hotel not far from King's Cross."

"You're living on your own?" the boy's father asked in apparent disbelief.

"Why don't you come with us?" Alex invited Harry. "We have a spare room, where you could stay for a little while."

"We'd like to have you, and we could take you back to King's Cross in the evening," Alex' father offered, showing Harry an inviting smile.

Recalling that the Dursleys had always told Dudley and him to not go with strangers, Harry grinned and replied, "I'd like that."

HP

The Sevans' apartment was in walking distance, and the two boys spent the whole afternoon playing with various games in Alex' room.

Harry learned that his father, Ted Sevan, was a police officer, while his mother, Lucy Sevan, was working at an apothecary. _'Oh no,'_ he thought in shock. _'I mustn't tell them that I more or less ran away from the Dursleys. As a police officer, he'd surely take me back there.'_

Too soon for Harry's and Alex' liking, it was dinner time, and after a very enjoyable dinner, Alex' father insisted to drive Harry back to where he was living.

During the ten-minute drive to King's Cross, Harry and Alex chatted about this and that, and Harry had the pleasant feeling as if he had gained a good friend – for the first time in his life.

The friends decided that Harry should come back to visit Alex on Tuesday afternoon, and Harry was very happy when he walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. _'I could have told his father how to get here, but maybe it's better to not have a policeman know where to find me,'_ he thought, as he tiredly trailed upstairs towards his room.

HP

During the following weeks, Harry visited the Sevans on a daily basis, and the boys spent the afternoons playing together. They even invited him to spend the whole weekend with them and accompany them on a family outing to the seaside on Sunday.

For the first time in his life, Harry had the impression as if he had found not only a very good friend but even a family who really seemed to care for him. _'As much as I'm looking forward to going to Hogwarts, it's a pity that I won't be able to meet with the Sevans' during the school year,'_ he thought. _'I'm really going to miss Alex and his parents.'_

HP

To Harry's surprise but also relief, he noticed that Alex seemed to be a wizard just like himself, when he happened to summon a piece of a jigsaw puzzle from a large pile of similarly looking pieces.

"You can do magic as well," Harry stated, smiling happily at his friend.

"What?" Alex asked in apparent confusion.

"You just called the piece to you, didn't you?" Harry insisted.

"It just came to me," Alex replied, shrugging. "Happens sometimes," he added, giving Harry a questioning look.

"That's because you're a wizard just like myself," Harry informed the younger boy.

"Mum," Alex shouted for his mother, who came into the room a minute later. "I'm a wizard, and Harry is one, too. We can do magic," he blurted out in clear excitement.

Smiling at Lucy's surprised face, he wondered why she, in fact, looked more thoughtful than surprised. Pulling out his wand from his robe pocket, he showed it to Alex and his mother. "I'm soon going to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn how to cast real magic," he explained.

Lucy suddenly reached for his wand, causing Harry to look at her with bewilderment. _'Even if she might be magical as well, the wand won't work for her anyway,'_ he thought, recalling what Mr. Ollivander had told him about wands choosing the wizard.

However, as soon as Lucy held Harry's wand in her hands, bright sparkles began to emerge from the tip of the wand, and when she gave it a small wave, the puzzle on the table arranged itself to its complete state.

"Thanks," Lucy told Harry and returned the wand, before she let herself sink onto Alex' bed, gripping her head with both hands.

"Mum, is everything all right?" Alex asked in apparent concern.

"I don't know," Lucy replied in a thin voice. "I remember…" She did not continue to explain, making Alex and Harry stare at her with worry.

"Mum, shall I call Dad to come home?" Alex enquired.

"No dear, just leave me for a moment," Lucy replied, seemingly confused.

However, sensing that something was very wrong with his mother, Alex quietly left the room and called his father.

Ted arrived twenty minutes later, rushing into Alex' room, where Lucy was still sitting with her head in her hands.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Ted asked, gently laying his arm around her back, as he lowered himself to sit next to her.

"James," Lucy replied, staring at her husband with wide eyes. "You're James Potter, I'm Lily, and Harry there is our baby, Harry Potter. That's why he and Alex look like twins. They're brothers. Someone has obliviated us and made us live in the muggle world after Voldemort attacked us. I'm not sure how and what happened, but I just got my memories back, when Harry showed me his wand."

Ted stared at his wife in utmost concern. "Are you delirious?" he finally asked.

"No," Lily replied in a firm voice. "Harry dear, please let me use your wand once more," she said and, taking Harry's wand, waved it at her husband, whispering an incantation, which caused James to groan and hold his head like Lily had done, earlier. Another flick of the wand changed James' features, making him look the spitting image of his sons.

The children quietly looked at each other, before returning their gaze to their parents.

"That's not possible though," Harry finally spoke up in a small voice. "My parents were killed when I was a year old."

"Maybe we weren't really killed, but someone helped us escape and then obliviated us and made sure that we'd live in the muggle world," James replied, sounding angered. "Successfully as it seems," he added, sighing.

"I wonder who did that and why," Lily replied in apparent shock. "Let's go to Godric's Hollow or Potter Manor if you want. It only takes thirty minutes to brew the paternity potion, which would tell us exactly if Harry's our son, of which I'm already sure."

"Yes, let's do that," James agreed. Turning to Harry, he asked, "How much are you acquainted with the magical world? Do you know Apparition?"

"No sir," Harry replied in a small voice. "I've grown up with my muggle relatives, and they absolutely detest magic."

"Oh no," Lily groaned. "Don't tell me you grew up with Petunia and her horrible husband."

"Petunia and Vernon Dursley," Harry confirmed.

"We don't need a paternity potion," James said, grinning broadly, before he headed over to where Harry was sitting and pulled his son into a gentle hug.

"What are we going to do now?" Lily spoke up, giving her husband a questioning look.

James shrugged. "I suppose we should return to the magical world in any case. Maybe Sirius can help us, considering that we're missing ten years. Who knows what happened during that time."

"Or Dumbledore," Lily added. "You know as well as I do how irresponsible Sirius can be at times. Frankly speaking, I don't feel like apparating though, considering that we didn't do any magic for ten years. We don't want to lose the kids on the way."

James scrunched his forehead, deep in thought. "Let's go to Harry's room at the Leaky Cauldron and call Dumbledore there. Maybe he has an explanation to this mess," he finally said.

HP

Feeling extremely happy to suddenly have a family, Harry climbed into the car together with his newly found brother. James managed to park the car not far from the Leaky Cauldron, and they soon reached the pub, which was not extremely crowded on this early Sunday afternoon.

"Quickly lead us to your room, so that we won't attract any attention," James whispered to Harry, who nodded in understanding and strode ahead towards the staircase, where they were already out of everyone's view.

Tom stared in apparent shock at the three persons who followed Harry into the pub, but soon became distracted by a customer who required his help opening the exit towards Diagon Alley.

"We could ask Tom to call Dumbledore here and send him to Harry's room," James suggested.

Lily eyed him, warily. "Do you really want so much attention?" she asked in apparent disbelief. "I'm glad that we got here without anyone shouting our names out to the whole magical world."

"Yes, that's true," James agreed. "Shall we have Harry floo call him then?"

Harry eyed his father, questioningly. "Sure," he replied, shrugging. "If you tell me how that works. He isn't supposed to know that I ran away from the Dursleys though," he added as an afterthought, just when he spotted Hedwig sitting on the window sill. "We could send him a letter using my owl though."

The Potters finally settled on Harry's idea, and Lily quickly penned a few sentences asking the headmaster to come to see them at the Leaky Cauldron as soon as possible.

"Will you take this to Professor Dumbledore as quickly as you can, please?" Harry asked Hedwig, when James gently fastened the parchment to her leg.

Letting out a comforting "Shoo hoo," Hedwig took into the air.

HP

At the same time, Minerva McGonagall was sitting opposite of Albus Dumbledore in the headmaster's office discussing the upcoming school year and their expectations.

"I hope Quirinus will do well," Albus said, sighing.

"If he'd only stop stuttering," Minerva spoke up in her thick Scottish accent, which always came out during the long holidays, when she did not have to restrict herself to speak proper English to the students. "I don't know how he picked that up. He wasn't stuttering before."

"That's true, my dear," Albus agreed. "I wished I could hire someone for the sole purpose of finding a way to cancel the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position."

Minerva cast him a surprised look. "Why not?" she then enquired. "That's a fantastic idea. I haven't known a good one ever after James though," she admitted. "Bill Weasley is a curse breaker as well, but since he works in Egypt…"

"James Potter was a curse breaker?" Albus asked, absentmindedly popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

All of a sudden, a snowy white owl tapped against the window. _'What a beautiful owl,'_ she thought in surprise, knowing that she had never seen that particular owl before.

She observed how Albus headed to the window and gently took a letter from the owl's leg, before he returned to his chair behind his desk and unfolded the parchment with apparent curiosity.

Before Minerva knew what happened, Albus sat there gasping for air, almost as if he was choking on his lemon drop.

"Albus!" she shouted, horrified, running around the desk in a faint attempt to help her older colleague, only to realise that there was nothing that she could do. Rushing to the fireplace, she called Poppy, who stepped through the Floo a mere instant later.

' _Thank Merlin,'_ Minerva thought, when the healer cast a spell to rescue the old wizard from choking. She patiently waited until the headmaster had recovered from his accident, before enquiring about the letter which had obviously caused him to become upset.

Albus wordlessly handed over the letter.

' _Albus,  
something happened to us, and we need your help now. We're waiting for you in the top room at the Leaky Cauldron.  
Best regards  
Lily, James, Harry and Alex Potter'_

"What?" she blurted out in disbelief.

"I need to go and see who sent this letter and why," Albus spoke up, his voice laced with tiredness and annoyance.

"You're not going to go anywhere," Poppy corrected him in a no-nonsense voice. "Minerva and I'll go instead."

"It might be a trap," Albus warned them.

"We'll be fine," Minerva assured him, and the two witches headed to the fireplace in anticipation.

HP

Together, the two best friends climbed up the creaky, old staircase, their wands firmly in their hands, and hesitantly knocked at the door of what seemed to be the only room on the Leaky Cauldron's top floor.

"Come in," a male voice told them, and Poppy went ahead to open the door, only to back up in shock upon the sight that greeted her.

' _Two people, who are supposed to have died ten years ago, and two boys, where there should only be one,'_ Minerva thought in disbelief. "Who are you?" she asked in her strictest teacher's voice, using the tone which was usually reserved for students in detention, while she pointed her wand at the young family. From the corners of her eyes, she could see that Poppy was unobtrusively waving her wand.

"Minerva, as hard to believe as it is, they seem to be who they claim to be," Poppy spoke up in a soft voice before turning to the family. "Will you please explain yourselves? You're supposed to be dead."

HP

Hearing the Potters' explanation, Minerva urged the family to accompany them to Hogwarts to tell the headmaster what happened and to enlist his help in order to get used to living in the magical world again. Having everyone touch her pendant, which she was usually wearing invisibly under her robes, she made the whole group travel to Albus Dumbledore's office, where James Potter once again explained what had happened to him and his wife.

"I had no idea," Dumbledore said, his voice laced with regret and at the same time amazement. "I don't even have a clue who saved your lives at that time. Maybe Severus. He could have known about the upcoming attack, before he was spying on Voldemort, but I'm not sure."

He remained pensive for a moment, before he suggested, "James, I'd like to hire you with the sole purpose of finding out how to cancel the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. If you manage to lift the curse, the Defence position will be yours."

"I accept," James replied without even having to think about the matter, "provided that my family will be allowed to live at Hogwarts with me."

"Of course," Dumbledore replied, gently, before turning to Lily. "Lily, Severus is our Potions professor and Potions Master. I know, however, that he absolutely detests teaching the children and would rather concentrate on his Potions Master's duties. Would you perhaps like to take the position of the Potions teacher?"

"I'd like that," Lily replied, eagerly. "What about Alex though? He's only nine, while Harry is going to become a student in a week's time."

"Let Alex attend first-year classes together with Harry," Dumbledore decided, causing Minerva to roll her eyes in apparent annoyance.

"Oh, thank you, sir," Alex blurted out. "I'd love to attend classes together with Harry."

"I'd like that, too," Harry added, smiling.

HP

At the same time, Severus Snape was sitting in his favourite armchair in front of the fireplace. Even during the summer, the warmth of the fire felt comfortable in the dungeons.

' _Just one more week and Harry bloody Potter is going to become a student here,'_ he mused in annoyance, while his thoughts wandered back to that night almost ten years ago, when he had saved Lily and her atrocious husband by rescuing them from death by a Portkey that not only brought them to his home at Spinners End, but also stunned them on the way. Later on, he had modified their memories and helped them adjust to their new life without having them know that they had needed help in the first place, let alone that it was him who had planned their future in every detail. He had purchased their new identities, provided them work as well as a new home. Contented to have succeeded in his self-inflicted mission, he had completely pushed the matter of his mind and went on with his life.

' _In three months, it's going to be ten years,'_ he recalled. _'Maybe I should go and unobtrusively renew the memory spells. We can't have them wear off at some stage. I'll do that a few days before Halloween,'_ he resolved, taking a sip of his tea, before he readied himself to concentrate on his newest copy of Potions Monthly.

He had just managed to emerge himself into his lecture, when the fireplace flared and the much too enthusiastic headmaster's head appeared in the flames. "Severus, please come to my office immediately," the old wizard informed him with apparent pleasure. "I have good news for you. You don't have to teach the dunderheads anymore and can concentrate on your activities as our Potions Master," he added as an afterthought, causing Severus to quirk an eyebrow in silent question and hurriedly step though the fireplace in anticipation.

 **The End** (unless I decide to continue it at a later time)


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